The present invention relates to slicing machines for pieces of meat or the like, especially to skinning or derinding machines for bacon. More particularly, the invention relates to slicing or skinning machines of the type wherein a slab of bacon or the like is transported into the range of a traction wheel which, in turn, feeds the material to be sliced or skinned against a stationary knife.
In certain presently known machines of the above outlined character, the transporting means includes or is constituted by a belt conveyor whose upper reach advances the product to be sliced or skinned and has a supporting surface which is located in a supporting plane and whose imaginary extension is substantially tangential to the traction wheel. In most instances, the place of the extension of the supporting surface is located somewhere between two parallel planes of which includes the axis of the traction wheel and the other of which is tangential to the peripheral surface of the traction wheel. Such machines normally further comprise a hold-down device (e.g., a rotary member) which is installed in the region of the traction wheel and serves to urge the product against the periphery of the traction wheel. The traction wheel, the knife and the hold-down device are not accessible when the machine is in operation. Shielding of the slicing or skinning station is desirable and often prescribed in order to reduce the likelihood of injury to attendants. Consequently, an attendant cannot introduce the leader of a slab of bacon into the range of operation of the cutting edge of the knife, and the attendant cannot "assist" a slab to advance all the way into the actual slicing or skinning zone. This presents problems in many presently known machines, especially during the initial stage of a skinning operation. One of the reasons for such problems is that the thickness of bacon normally varies from slab to slab.